A Terrible Trend in Terrorism
Published on May 12, 2004 By Larry Kuperman In Current Events
In primitive societies, desecrating the dead bodies of fallen enemies was a not uncommon practice. Often it was based on form of belief that what was done to the body would have implications in the afterlife. This is not an act associated with civilized people living in modern world. But recently Arab terrorist organizations have revived this form of mutilation.

We have all seen or heard about the beheading of Nick Berg. You have to wonder why he was beheaded rather than simply shot. Dead is dead, right? A bullet would have been just as effective. But not as shocking.

We have also seen the desecration of the bodies of the four contractors at Fallujah, where the charred remains were dragged through the streets by crowds and then hanged from the bridge.

Another incident occurred in Gaza City, where an Israeli Armored Personnel Carrier was destroyed by a bomb. The bomb set off the explosives inside the carrier, which was torn apart. Pieces of the carrier and of the soldiers inside were scattered over a 300-meter radius. Israeli forces attempted to recover the bodies, but were turned back by hostile fire. The assembled crowd then began to parade the body parts through the streets. Two masked terrorists, identified as members of the Islamic Jihad, then posed with what they said was the head of an Israeli soldier on a table. Al Jazeera broadcast the scene.

The terrorists made demands as a contingency for returning the bodies. "We possess the remains of your bodies that were thrown into the streets of Gaza. We have our demands to hand them over to the Zionist occupier," said a joint statement from Islamic Jihad and the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, which claimed the operation along with members of Hamas.

Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority attempted to stop the broadcast. The PA also called for the bodies to be returned to the Israeli government without condition. It should be noted that the bodies of the dead are considered sacred under both Islamic and Judaic law.

The Red Cross has tried to negotiate the return of the body parts. "We are in contact with all the Palestinian groups in an effort to recover the remains," Israeli Red Cross spokesman Uriel Massad said. "I hope this will be settled. There is an obligation to respect the bodies of soldiers."

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said "We are fighting a cruel, inhuman enemy, and we won't stop fighting it and hurting it no matter where it hides."

It should be noted that the Israelis had gone in to destroy two factories for making missiles. They used ground carriers instead of missiles in order to minimize Palestinian civilian casualties, according to the Israelis government.

Foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested at an emergency meeting of the Israeli security cabinet that water and electricity supplies to Gaza be cut until the remains were returned. This is something that Israel could do pretty easily, but has not done for presumably humanitarian reasons.

So, we have terrorist groups in Iraq and in Gaza desecrating the dead. Al-Jazeera broadcasts the events throughout the Arab world. No one can believe that such acts can have any strategic value. Certainly, they are not likely to garner much sympathy from the West, hence Arafat's opposition to the broadcasts. I think even the staunchest defender of the Palestinians is going to have a hard time rationalizing this. "It is okay to display the head of an Israeli soldier because the Israelis blew up two missile factories," seems kind of weak to me. Why then are they doing these terrible things?

I have said in the past that the battle in Middle East is one for the hearts and minds of the West. The Arab states are not going to embark on yet another war to create a Palestinian homeland, so the most likely path is to have the West pressure Israel to make concessions. I am certainly not unbiased, but I do think that the Palestinians are pretty good at getting "positive" media coverage. The killing of Hamas leader Yassin, for example, received more coverage than the terrorist act that led to his assassination. It appears now that at least some Palestinians and Iraqi terrorists are giving up on the strategy of garnering sympathy from the West.

I fear the acts of such desperate men.

Comments
on May 12, 2004
Very well written article. This is the insightful information that helps us look at the problems in the middle east as something we all really need to look at , and think about. As for others I can only hope that come June 30th we will be out of Iraq (doubtful).

Pam
on May 12, 2004

 Again, Larry, very well written.  As strange as I find the concept of "rules of war," the use of "any means possible" by terrorists makes me want to throw my hands up in the air in defeat.  How can there be peace in the world if these are the world's inhabitants.


 


Images broadcast recently, as well as this article, reminded me of a haunting picture from when this intifada first started.  You might remember the two Israelis who were lost in the West Bank (I don't remember if they were soldiers or police or what they were)--there's all sorts of stories about why they were there and what they were doing...but my point is that they were brutally murdered and the picture that made it on the front page of the paper was the blood covered hands of Palestinians cheering at their "victory."  Disgusting.


 


This is something that Israel could do pretty easily, but has not done for presumably humanitarian reasons.
 


I'm sort of surprised that Israel hasn't simply done this because Israel has never been above collective punishment in the past.  Here's the deal...certain Palestinian terrorist did these horrible things, and won't return the bodies.  It's not all Palestinians.  But to turn off the water and electricity supplies, that's punishing all Palestinians, and collective punishment is  frowned upon by international law.

on May 12, 2004
shadesofgrey, thank you for your praise. As you know, it means a lot to me.

Regarding Israel's use of "collective punishment," it has at times made sense. How do you respond to a wave of suicide bombings? You find a leader and "punish" him. The British General Allenby was an advocate of using such tactics to fight an "invisible enemy." When you think of what Israel has the power to do and compare that to what actions they actually take, I think most people would agree that they demonstrate considerable forbearance.

Helix, not to be a complete optimist, but I think that the desperate tactics show that terrorists know that they are fighting a losing battle. They are no longer concerned with world opinion simply because they have seen that opportunity pass.

Be aware that desperate men do desperate things, but think that it will always be this way. I think that the time of the moderates is coming and it will be brought on by a backlash to the acts that we are witnessing now.
on May 12, 2004
I must say I have no clue why people would do that, other than total rage, like a mob mentality. But it's sick and actually they say it's against Islam, so why they would do it is kind of dumb.
on May 12, 2004
When I said that "the bodies of the dead are considered sacred under both Islamic and Judaic law" I did not mean that that the dismemberment of non-Muslim bodies would be considered a violation of Islamic law. I simply meant that the terrorists were well aware of the importance that recovering the bodies would have for Israel. That is why they tried to use them as "bargaining chips."

Like all religions today, there are many interpretations to Islamic law and not all followers share the same point of view. Islamic law distinguishes between the treatment due a fellow Muslim versus a non-believer. However, even a cursory study of Islam will show that there are religious antecedents for recent behaviors.

Here is an account based on the Quran of The Prophet Mohammed's treatment of the Jews who surrendered to him after the siege of Medina:

In the morning Muhammad ordered long, deep and narrow trenches to be dug in the market place. The seven hundred or so men from Bani Qurayzah were brought in small groups to kneel beside the trench. Then the younger and stronger believers cut off the Jews' heads each with a stroke of a sword. The last to die were beheaded by torchlight. The women, children and property were divided amongst those who had taken part in the siege. The Bani Nadir ransomed many of their kin but Muhammad kept for himself, as concubine, a beautiful Jewess named Rayhanah.

Source: http://www.yahoodi.com/peace/muhammad.html#othert

So, even back to the time of Mohammed, there was a precedent of killing by beheading prisoners.

Now as I prefaced, this post by saying, not all Muslims would agree with such treatment. However an extremist would not have to look far to find a justification.
on May 13, 2004
the vietnamese used remains as bargaining chips as well.
on May 28, 2004
A couple years ago there was an executed israeli soldier. The arabs took a picture and placed it on a bilboard right across from the Israeli militarized border. It's things like this that make me sick.
on Jul 05, 2004
That picture that was taken by the Arabs, Hizbullah to be exact, had several picture of dead Israelis, inclduing a decapitated one. Chances are that the Israelis in their Lebanon border post knew the men who were shown in those disgusting pcitures. The sign also read "Sharon, don't forget, your sons are still in Lebanon" in Hebrew to mock the soldiers and Sharon. This is the sick mentality Israel faces daily from the terrorist onslaught it has to fight.